I am very excited about taking the 9 day Royal Caribbean Cruise to Bermuda, St. Thomas, St. Maartin, Puerto Rico....any advise on what excursions to take? We area a family of 4..my husband of 20 years are 43 years old and we have 2 sons 17 and 13.

Frase

07-14-2008 05:48 PM

I have been on 4 cruises in my lifetime (so far). And I have been to all those places you are going to, except for Bermuda.

I really liked St. Thomas. My reccomendation for a shore excursion there, would be to take a boat or ferry ride to neighboring U.S.V.I., St. John to visit Trunk Bay. It was amazingly beautiful. I am sure I have seen Trunk Bay in some movie. Anyway, my shore excursion was titled "5-Star To Trunk Bay". It involved boarding the boat Leylon Sneedwhich was docked right next to our cruise ship. The Leylon Sneed then took us to and from Trunk Bay. It was wonderful. If you can't find this particular shore-ex., I am sure you can find similar one that will take you to Trunk Bay,St. John. http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/27...600x600Q85.jpg

Another nice shore excursion while in St. Thomas is ride on the "St. Thomas Skyride To Paradise Point". It is a ski-lift type gondola ride up the top of a mountain for a beautiful panaramic view of St. Thomas. It is located within walking distance from your cruiseship. I went on the skyride during my fourth cruise last year. You don't have to book shore excursion tickets in advance for the skyride. You could just simply walk-up to the entrance to the skyride and purchase tickets there. That's what I did. However, I discovered that the shore excursion tickets sold onboard the ship were a few dollars less. Oh well...live and learn. Anyway, I did enjoy the skyride. http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/28...500x500Q85.jpghttp://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/21...600x600Q85.jpg

I did not go to these places, but I heard that other nice shore excursions in St. Thomas involve going to:
- Maegan's Bay
- Coral Word
- Coki Beach

Frase

07-14-2008 07:41 PM

As for San Juan, PR, I went on the "Walking Tour of Old San Juan". I really enjoyed it. However, this is a shore excursion for physically fit people. If I knew how much walking I was in-store for, I would have practiced for weeks on a treadmill at my gym.
This is also a shore excursion for people who are fascinated with old and historical things (as I am). You get to see parts of San Juan that are up to 500 years old.

Another nice shore excursion to do in San Juan is the tour of the Bacardi Rum Factory; or so I heard.

Frase

07-14-2008 08:11 PM

As for St. Maarten (St. Martin), I did not book any shore excursions while there. Instead, I went to Orient Beach, on the French side (St. Martin). It was a beautiful beach:http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/89...600x600Q85.jpg
The van ride however, maybe not so. Around the shore of St. Maarten (St. Martin) is really nice. The middle of the island where the van drove through, maybe not so nice. There was allot of poverty. But the trip was worth it to go to Orient Beach. I have to warn you that the southern end of the beach is "clothing-optional", due to the fact that a nudist resort "Club Orient" is located there. There will be warning signs that you will see as you cross into that southern end of the beach; warning you that you may see nude sunbathers beyond that point; and that cameras, video, and cellphones are not permitted beyond that point into the southern end, as well. HOWEVER, if one is excited anticipating what they might see at this clothing-optional section of the beach, they will be very likely dissapointed. When I was there, it seemed that those without any clothes were all at least over 60 years old.

Anyway, I heard of a few good shore excursions to do in St. Maarten(Martin) described by members here:
- some sort of Catamaran trip around the island
- some sort of Americas Cup race involving passengers aboard such sailing vessels.
- a tour of The Lotterie Farm (which I believe may have been a butterfly farm).
- also there is some good shopping opporitunities in Phillipsburg where your cruise ship will be docked (on the Dutch side [St. Maarten]).

F.Y.I. the island is shared by France and The Netherlands. The south side of the island is the Dutch side (called Sint Maarten). The French side is the north side of the island (called St. Martin).

Hi carmena610, welcome to Cruise-Chat. Frase, thanks for the GREAT pictures. Carmena610, if you'll look a little further down on the main page, there is a Caribbean Port Chat section. By using your Find feature (upper left hand corner) and typing in your ports, it will pull up all the posts made about them. That way maybe you can find some things that interest you. Best wishes for a fantastic cruise and once again, welcome aboard!